Fatally Frosted (17 page)

Promptly at ten, my donut shop book club group came in. I’d become a member almost by accident, but I loved the one hour every month when I could discuss the latest mystery pick with my new friends. I’d
thought about inviting my mother, and maybe someday I would, but for now, I wanted this all to myself.

The three older women were fast becoming favorites of mine. Sure, they sported expensive clothing and had regal postures, but beneath it all, they were a lot like me.

Jennifer, the redhead and leader of the group, smiled warmly as she saw me. “Hello, Suzanne. Are you going to be able to join us today? We’re going to have to keep it to half an hour, but we’d love to have you.”

“Let me get Emma up here,” I said.

After she was safely ensconced at the front, I grabbed my copy of A
Sudden Deadly End
and joined them after pouring four coffees and grabbing some huge cinnamon buns.

“I’ve got treats,” I said as I joined Hazel and Elizabeth.

“You know you’re welcome without them,” Elizabeth said as she took one of the coffee cups.

“But it’s ever so nice with them,” Hazel added as she went straight for a bun. She noticed the other two women staring at her, then added, “Suzanne knows I’m teasing.” As recompense, she reached into her purse and pulled out a fifty.

“That’s too much,” I said.

“Please, I’d gladly pay twice that for just one of these creations.” After a moment, she added thoughtfully, “I shouldn’t have admitted that, should I?”

We all laughed, and Jennifer got out her notes. “The first question I have is why would any woman go in that house after she hears the gunshot in chapter one?”

“I’d dive in the bushes,” I admitted.

“Or drive away,” Hazel said.

“Sure, but then he could see you leave, so he’d know you were there. I’d wait until I was sure he couldn’t see me, then I’d leave.”

Jennifer nodded. “I hadn’t thought of that. Sometimes I think authors have their characters do foolish things just to advance the plot.”

I smiled. “It wouldn’t be a very big book if the heroine called the police at the first sign of trouble, though. I think we have to suspend our disbelief while we’re reading, don’t you all agree?”

There were solemn nods, and I felt right at home.

Too soon, it was time to break up for another month. “We hate to go, but Hazel’s uncle is in the hospital, and we promised to visit. You’re welcome to come with us,” she added brightly. “We can continue our discussion in the car on the way over.”

“I’d love to, but I’m afraid I have to stay here. Thanks for asking.”

Jennifer put a hand on mine. “Suzanne, you’re a member of our group. Wherever we go, you’re always welcome to join us.”

After the ladies left, I felt so fortunate to be included in their group. I enjoyed being among bright and energetic people. It had been a lucky day for me when they’d first stumbled into my donut shop looking for a place to hold their meeting.

When the door chimed a little just after eleven, I would have welcomed a band of first-graders, if it meant selling them each a donut.

Instead of a customer, though, it was Janice Deal, the owner of Patty Cakes, and I wondered what was on her mind this morning.

“Hello, Suzanne.”

“Hi,” I said, trying my best not to show that I was cringing inside. Janice had an attitude that was accompanied by a chip on her shoulder that barely fit through doorways, and I wasn’t in the mood to spar with her today. “What can I get you?”

She looked around the deserted shop, then said, “I don’t suppose you’d give me some advice,” she said.

“Concerning what in particular?” I asked. This was uncharted territory for us, and I wasn’t sure I liked covering new ground with her.

“How do you glaze your yeast donuts after you make them? Krispy Kreme has a waterfall system, but I can’t imagine you being able to afford something that complex, and glazing them one at time looks like it would take forever.”

“Why do you want to know?” Emma asked as she came out of the kitchen. “You’re making donuts yourself, aren’t you?”

“Emma, be nice,” I said.

“Yes, you should learn how to at least be polite to your customers,” Janice snapped at her.

“Funny, I didn’t hear you order anything,” Emma said.

“Go back to the kitchen,” I said to my employee.

“But she’s . . .”

I wasn’t about to have that conversation right now. “Emma. Please do as I ask.”

“Fine, you’re the boss,” she said as she walked back through the door to the kitchen. I noticed that it
hadn’t closed all the way, and I was certain she was still listening. Good, I wanted her to hear what I had to say next.

“It’s good to know that you understand how to keep your employees in line,” Janice said.

I took my apron off and slammed it on the counter. “How dare you come in here and insult my staff. She’s not just an employee, Janice, she’s my friend, and she was only looking out for me.”

“What’s the matter? Is it possible that you’re afraid of a little competition?” Janice asked snidely.

“From you? Hardly. You might as well try to learn to make a decent donut, since your cakes taste like sawdust, and your icing resembles toothpaste. Would you like to discuss your cookies? I’ve got notes somewhere we could go over if you’ve got an hour or two.”

Her face had paled during my diatribe, and she left my shop without another word, nearly knocking David Shelby over as she stormed off.

As he walked in, Emma started applauding.

“Wow, that’s some greeting,” he said. “Do you clap for every customer who comes through the door?”

Emma walked out and said, “It’s not for you, it’s for Suzanne. She just spanked Janice Deal.”

I shook my head. “Emma, I’m not exactly proud of the way I handled that,” I said. “But she deserved it. I can’t believe she thought she could get away with talking to you like that.”

“She won’t make that mistake twice,” Emma said.

My assistant looked at David, then said, “Excuse me; I’ve got dishes to wash.”

After she was gone, David asked, “What exactly did you say to her, anyway? She left like you’d just flayed her alive.”

“I attacked her baking skills, or lack thereof, which is pretty much the same thing,” I said. “Sometimes I wish the gear between my mouth and my brain worked a little better at shutting me up.”

He laughed. “What kind of fun would that be? What did she say to get you so riled up?”

“She wanted some tips on making donuts,” I said. “It’s bad enough that she wants to put me out of business, but it takes some kind of nerve to ask me for my hard-fought knowledge to do it.”

David frowned out the window toward her place. “Just for that, I’m not going to shop in her store.”

“Have a big need for decorated cakes and cookies, do you?” I asked.

“No, but you never know what might come up.” He looked around the shop, then added, “Do I even need to ask how business is going?”

“The full trays and the empty seats say it all, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Tell you what,” he said as he studied the case. “I’ll take a dozen donuts to go. Mix and match them for me, would you?”

“Having a party?” I asked as I got out a box.

“No, but this way I’ll have something to snack on as I work.”

Ordinarily I wouldn’t have accepted his obviously pity-inspired order so willingly, but I really didn’t have much choice. A sale was a sale, and he was getting good donuts for his dollars. Still, after I put
twelve donuts in the box, I added a handful of donut holes as well.

As I took his money, I said, “You never told me what you do for a living, did you?”

He grinned as he took his change. “No, I sure didn’t.”

I was about to push it when my mother walked into the shop. She took one look at David and said, “You’re new in town, aren’t you?”

“Yes, ma’am, I am.”

“Are those donuts for your family?” Momma asked.

“Actually, I’m single. Have a nice day.”

“You do the same,” she said.

After he was gone, my mother said, “Suzanne, if your relationship with Jake founders, you could always go out with a nice man like that. He dresses well, he obviously likes donuts, and from the way he was looking at you when I walked in, I’d say he’s fond of the donut maker as well.”

“Momma, don’t you torment me enough at home?” I said with a laugh. “Do you honestly have to come down to the shop and do it, too?”

“I’ve got a life myself, believe it or not. But I’m here to deliver a message. Jake Bishop called the house a few minutes ago.”

“Why would he do that? He knows I’m working.”

“Suzanne, perhaps you should check your cell phone for messages.”

I reached into my pocket, and to my surprise, found that it wasn’t there.

She held it up, and asked, “Is this what you were
looking for? It was at home, sitting on your dresser and laughing like mad at me. I thought you were going to change that ringtone to something more civilized.”

“I kind of like it,” I said as I took the phone from her. “That explains why he didn’t call me on my cell phone, but why didn’t he try me here at the donut shop?”

“He didn’t have time to track down the number,” Momma said. “When I picked up your phone, he asked me to tell you why he had to leave so abruptly.”

“What did he say? What was the emergency?” I asked.

Momma frowned as she said, “It’s about his niece, Amy. She’s the oldest child of Jake’s sister Sarah, and apparently she’s had a rather bad time of it this morning.”

“What happened to her? Is she all right?” Jake had often talked about his oldest sister and her kids. Since he had no children of his own, they acted as surrogates for him. Since Sarah’s husband had left shortly after Amy’s brother Paul had been born, Jake had told me she’d been delighted by the male attention for her kids.

Momma said, “I’m afraid she’s in the hospital.”

“He must be going out of his mind with worry. What happened to her? Was it a car accident?”

I remembered Jake’s story of losing his own family, and prayed fervently that this incident wasn’t parallel.

“No, apparently she has a dangerously high fever, and they rushed her to the emergency room.”

“That’s terrible. I hope she’s all right.”

“He said he’d call when he learned more about her condition.”

“Thanks for coming over to tell me,” I said.

“It was my pleasure.” She looked at me another few seconds, as if she wanted to add something else, but then obviously thought better of it and walked out of the shop.

Emma came back out, wiping her hands on a towel. “Wow, sometimes it sucks being you, doesn’t it?”

“Have I ever had a conversation in this shop that you haven’t eavesdropped on, Emma?”

She pretended to think about it, then said, “I don’t think so, but I’m trying my best to make sure it never happens.”

I couldn’t help myself and laughed at her expression. “Why don’t you finish washing up in back, and then you can take off. I doubt we’re going to get many customers in here today.”

“You’re not just trying to get rid of me, are you?”

“Emma, if I were, I’d fire you instead of sending you home with pay. Why do you ask me that?”

“No reason,” she said as she scurried into the back to finish her last duties.

After ten minutes, she popped back out, this time wearing her jacket and missing an apron.

“That was fast,” I said, “even by your standards.”

“What can I say? I was motivated. Have a good day, Suzanne, I’ll see you in the morning.”

“See you then,” I said.

Once she was gone, I realized that Emma hadn’t pushed me about helping with my investigation surrounding Peg Masterson’s murder. Had she lost her curiosity, or had her father discouraged her from
helping me? He was the editor-in-chief of the county’s only newspaper, and I found myself wondering what their conversations at home sounded like when they talked about her work. Emma’s loyalty to me was unflagging, and I knew if I needed anything from her, all I had to do was ask. I was going to try not to, though. While my crew and I were older, I felt—whether rightly or wrongly—that we didn’t have quite so much to lose as Emma did.

At three minutes before noon, the door chimed, and George walked in. He sat at the counter, ordered a pair of pumpkin donuts, then said, “Peg seems to have left very little tracks of her existence in the world. Aside from the charity fundraising events she’s spearheaded over the years, she didn’t make an awful lot of impact. I have heard she’s got money, more than most folks around April Springs would ever suspect.” He studied me a second, then asked, “What have you been up to?”

I brought him up to date on what Grace and I had uncovered about the accounting log and the note Grace had found, but I’d forgotten it at home, so I couldn’t show it to him.

“That’s something, anyway,” he said after taking a bite from one of the donuts. “Where do you think we should go with this investigation now?”

“I keep wondering about Burt Gentry’s involvement with Peg and Marge. Is there any chance one of your buddies knows about that?”

“I could ask around,” George said. “Or I could talk to Burt directly. Knowing him, he’s liable to crow about his conquests.”

“Burt?” I asked. “That doesn’t sound like him at all.”

“Believe me, I’ll take him out for a drink after work, and he won’t be able to keep it to himself. He’s always fancied himself quite the ladies’ man, and I’ve sat through enough of his stories in the past to prove it.”

I looked at him and asked, “Are we talking about the same sweet old man from the hardware store?”

George laughed. “Suzanne, some men don’t like to kiss and tell, but I haven’t met many of them in my life. I’m willing to bet if I guide him a little and get a drink or two into him, I can get him to open up.”

“It’s worth a try,” I said.

“As a matter of fact, I think I’ll go take a run at him right now.”

After he was gone, Grace came by as I was just getting ready to lock the place up. I had eight dozen donuts to take to the church, since the day had ended up being even slower than I suspected.

She took one look at me and asked, “You’re not taking those all home with you, are you?”